Garment finishing combination

ABSTRACT

A garment finishing system comprised of a finisher having a heat exchanger and a steam discharge nozzle, and a low pressure steam boiler coupled to the finisher in a manner so that the finisher heat exchanger outlet is located vertically higher than the boiler water level thereby allowing gravity condensate return and infeed to the boiler, and makeup water infeed to the boiler generally from line pressure and without a pump. Most professional cleaning plants have available high pressure steam systems generally between 55 and 125 psi, and consequently most garment finishers are designed to be used with these available high steam pressures. The cost of having steam boilers of this high pressure is substantial, but even more important, many safety codes preclude the operation of such systems under certain conditions. For example, under some codes the accepted use of high pressure steam systems requires special room enclosures for or locations of the boiler and/or possibly the continued presence of a certified operator. The code distinction between low and high pressure steam systems frequently is made at 15 psig, based on ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) and BOLA (Building Officials Conference of America). Based in part on the above code restrictions, in coin-ops or self-service installations where non-technical customers would operate unattended finishing equipment, certain types of finishing equipment have heretofore not been used.

United States Patent 1 1 Buckley I Jan. 2, 1973 GARMENT FINISHINGCOMBINATION Wis.

Assigneei Macaw-mason 'Co'iiiIpaBI EIgTn:

Ill.

Filed: Sept. 9, 1971 Appl. No.: 178,923

US. Cl ..68/6, 68/20 Int. Cl ..D06c 1/00 References Cited UNITED STATESPATENTS 8/1962 Sussman ..,68/20 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS828,313 1/1952 Germany ..68/5C Primary Examiner-William 1. PriceAttorney-Charles F. Lind [57] ABSTRACT A garment finishing systemcomprised of a finisher having a heat exchanger and a steam dischargenozzle, and a low pressure steam boiler coupled to the finisherInventor: Norman A. Buckley, Wauwatosaf Field of Search ..68/5 C, 6, 20;223/51 in a manner so that the finisher heat exchanger outlet is locatedvertically higher than the boiler water level thereby allowing gravitycondensate return and infeed to the boiler, and makeup water infeed tothe boiler generally from line pressure and without a pump.

Most professional cleaning plants have available high pressure steamsystems generally between 55 and 125 psi, and consequently most garmentfinishers are designed to be used with these available high steampressures. The cost of having steam boilers of this high pressure issubstantial, but even more important, many safety codes preclude theoperation of such systems under certain conditions. For example, undersome codes the accepted use of high pressure steam systems requiresspecial room enclosures for or locations of the boiler and/or possiblythe continued presence of a certified operator. The code distinctionbetween low and high pressure steam systems frequently is made at 15psig, based on ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) and BOLA'(Building Officials Conference of America).

Based in part on the above code restrictions, in coinops or self-serviceinstallations where non-technical customers would operate unattendedfinishing equipment, certain types of finishing equipment haveheretofore not been used.

10 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJM 2 ms r n 8 J O 3 a a w an 0 4 mw u m .m Fl n u- V C w 6 m e v w M iliill" IUQI\III\.HH,FIHH ufl i ld li l l lfl llllllllll u m 2 w I. u u H u m l!| a o 2 M kl m n M V ww MW UE m .w m m w GARMENT FINISHING COMBINATION manner to allow gravityreturn of condensate back to l the boiler. The combination can beoperated at widely I varying steam pressures, but is particularly suitedfor use with low pressure steam of less than psi. Since many existingwater systems are typically at pressures well above 15 psi, such asbetween and 60 psi, and because of gravity feed condensate return, thereis no need for a separate condensate collecting tank and/or a boosterpump and the condensate and makeup water lines can be directly connectedto the boiler. This lowers the overall cost of the installation andreduces the number of components that can fail.

The invention will be more fully understood and appreciated afterreviewing the following specification, the accompanying drawing forminga part thereof; wherein FIG. 1 is a schematic type elevational viewshowing a preferred embodiment of the subject garment finisher and steamboiler combination; and

FIG. 2 is a similar schematic type view showing only the couplingexternally of the disclosed garment finisher of a more conventionalremotely located high pressure steam boiler system.

The disclosed finisher has a steam inlet connection that is directedthrough a control valve and flow control restriction to a nozzle fordischarging conditioning steam and that is also directed through a heatexchanger for heating garment drying air, and air vent means are locatedat the condensate discharge end of the heat exchanger. A boiler having agenerally constant water level is coupled to thefinisher with thecondensate discharge end of the heat exchanger located at leastapproximately 4 inches above the boiler water level to allow condensatereturn by gravity from the heat exchanger back to the boiler. A watermakeup I inlet to the boiler is provided with a float type automaticlevel control.

l The garment finisher 10 shown isv a batch box finisher, where a largecabinet 12 has a support orrack 14 on which a hanger l6is hooked and agarment'18 is suspended thereon to its full natural contour. The cabinethas an access opening (not shown) through which the operator can loadand unload the hanger and garment, and a doortypically would close theopening.

. To condition the garment, live steam is discharged from a steam outletnozzle 20 to within the cabinet to condense on the garment for relaxingthe fibers. There is also provided in the finisher 10 a means forblowing air over the garment to dry it. In this regard, a blower 22 hasan inlet 24 open to the enclosure at its lower end and an outletconnected to a channel 26 for discharge at the upper end of theenclosure for air flow downwardly over the garment. A heat exchanger 28in the channel 26 heats the air normally to temperatures in excess of Fto dry the garment, but much higher air temperatures to 250350F can beused to help set the garment in a wrinkle-free finished manner ifdesired.

The disclosed invention resides in the location of the finisher heatexchanger and its connection relative to a steam generating boiler, andfurther in the manner of providing a live steam discharging outlet. Asshown in FIG. 1, a steam generator boiler 30 is' located closelyadjacent the finisher and heat exchanger therein. This boiler can be ofa typical manufacture, even of a low pressure or 15 psi output capacity.

The boiler has a casing 32 which defines a chamber adapted to hold waterup to water line 34 and where steam when generated is above this line asat 36. If the pressure of the available water supply system is at leastapproximately 10 psi higher than the steam boiler pressure, whichtypically is the case when a low pressure boiler is used, makeup waterto the boiler is possible by direct connection to a water system line.The water system line 38 is thus connected through control valve 40 andline 42 to the boiler tank 32, and a float 44 car ried on a lever 46pivoted at pin 48 and operatively connected through linkage 50 canoperate the valve 40. Thus demand for water in the boiler is sensed bythe water level dropping which lowers the float 44 to open the valve 40and admit more water, where at the proper water level the buoyed float44 closes the valve.

A heating source, generally shown at 52, is in the boiler proximate thewater to generate the steam as required. An overfill safety device 54can be operated off the float to prevent or stop operation of the heater52 should the water level rise beyond the accepted level. Likewise, apressure responsive control 56 can be used to control the heat element52 for normal cycling. For example, if 15 psi pressure were desired andset on the control 56, the heater means would operate until thegenerated steam reached 15 psi pressure and the control would thenterminate the operation of the heater means.

A steam line 58 is connected between the boiler steam chamber 36 and asteam inlet connection 60 formed on the finisher 10. Likewise a steamcondensate line 62 is connected between condensate connection 64 of thefinisher l0 and theboiler chamber 32, and a one way check valve 66 is inthe line to limit condensate flow from the finisher to the boiler. Theboiler 30 and finisher 10 preferably are closely coupled together or areside by side within an 8-foot separation. The heat exchanger condensatedischarge connection 64 is located higher than or above the water levelline 34 in the boiler as shown at 68 a minimum of 4 inches, and thisprovides that condensate can return by gravity from the connection 64through the check valve 66 to the boiler.

This typical 4 inch minimum head overcomes the resistance of the lineand check valve with the boiler and finisher closely coupled in side byside relation with less than 8 feet separation. However, if it weredesired to separate the components more horizontally, then the minimumhead 68 between the condensate outlet connection 64 and the water level34 would have to be increased. The minimum declining overall pitch inthe line 62 should be no less than approximately one-half inchvertical'drop per feet horizontal separation of the unit.

Referring now to some specifics of the finisher 10, note that line 70connects steam inlet connection 60 with heat exchanger 28 and the heatexchanger in turn flows continuously to a tee 72 and through line 74 tooutlet condensate connection 64. Under most circumstances with aserpentine or coil type heat exchanger, condensate connection 64 islocated lower than inlet connection 60; whereas a header type heatexchanger might have these connections almost even. The tee 72 islocated generally at or near the discharge end of the heat exchanger,and upright line 76 from the tee leads to a conventional air bleed valve78, of the heat or moisture sensitive type for example. Consequently,this vent opens automatically when no steam is at the device but closeswhen steam reaches the device. Any air in the system is forced by thesteam moving through the heat exchanger to the tee 72 and then escapesthrough the open vent. Since air in the system can block effective steamflow through the heat exchanger, the location and operation of this airbleed therefore is rather critical, particularly with this gravitycondensate return boiler coupling.

Connected off of steam line 70 is a line 80 which passes through a flowcontrol restriction 82 and control valve 84 to the steam dischargenozzle. The boiler supplies steam for both the heat exchanger andnozzle, but normally each drains power from the boiler at differenttimes. The restriction 82 can be of a fixed size orifice that allowscontrolled steam discharge when the control valve 84 is opened, and thuskeeps the steam consumption more uniform and not markedly beyond theboiler capacity for short bursts.

For example, a preferred cycle provides that steam is discharged intothe cabinet for some 100 to 150 second duration, and at this time theboiler pressure might be reduced from a designed 13 to 15 psi toapproximately 10 psi. Thereafter, there would be an equally long soakperiod with no steam discharge or blower operation, which allows thesteam to condense on and penetrate into the garment and also providesrecovery time for the boiler. Lastly, the blower is powered to circulateheated air over the garment which fluffs and dries the garment, and thisphase of the cycle lasts typically some 120 to 180 seconds. The totalfinishing cycle takes between 5 and minutes and requires a boiler havingfor example 1% to 2% boiler horsepower for a 6-10 garment capacitycabinet.

The restriction 82 can be of a fixed size orifice and permits longsteaming time with a given boiler capacity. Since it is contemplatedthat the disclosed finisher can be operated where steam is generated byan adjacent boiler, this feature is of importance to reduce the cost ofthe installation.

Note that the disclosed heat exchanger 28 is set high on the finisherthereby locating the condensate return connection 64 at a minimumdistance of approximately at least 4 inches above the water level lineon the adjacent boiler. This permits return of the condensate under theforces of gravity and eliminates the need for a condensate return pump.Moreover, the use of a low pressure boiler with its pressure typicallyof the order of at least 10 psi less than that of any available watersystem pressure permits water makeup as indicated directly from thewater system line. This eliminates the need of a pump for forcing themakeup and condensate water into the high boiler pressure; and it alsoeliminates the need for a separate condensate collecting vessel.

The disclosed low pressure boiler and garment finisher combination canbe used in installations where high pressure steam is not available orwhere it might even be prohibited by various safety codes and the like,and is particularly suited for self service coin-op installations. Thequality of finish is comparable in most respects to that obtained withconventional high pressure finishers, but the lower overall cost and thefact that this finisher system can be used in many previously heretoforerestricted installations clearly represent distinct advantages. Thedisclosed finisher boiler combination is economical to install, and issafe and efficient in operation.

For the sake of comparison, conventional finishing equipment operates atsteam pressures of approximately 55 to 125 psig, and many garmentfinishing experts heretofore have considered 55 psig as an absoluteminimum pressure that could be used. It has been found that in usefinisher steam pressures might typically range between 10 and 15 psi,where the 10 psi occurs during the steam discharge and the higherpressure is reached during the soak period or drying period.

The disclosed finisher can be constructed of suffcient material gaugesto allow operation at high steam pressure, it it were available and ordesired. For example, the finisher might be rated for use at pressuresup to 50 psig, and the same might be connected to a higher pressuresteam line. The schematic of this type installation is shown in FIG. 2where a typical remotely located high pressure boiler is used. In this,a pressure regulator 91 is in the steam line 92 to steam connection 60operable to reduce the boiler pressure to the accepted finisherpressure, and a water trap 93 is in the condensate return line 94 fromconnection 64 and line 95 from the trap empties into condensate tank 96.Line 97 connects the tank 96 through a pump 98 to the boiler 90, and afloat controlled water makeup is used but this time to the tank 96. Thissystem allows almost any relative location of the components, since theboiler head is typically sufficient to drive both the steam and thecondensate, since the latter is vented to atmosphere in tank 96. Waterlevel control 100 determines the operation of the makeup pump 98, andpressure controller 101 determines the operation of the heating element102 to the maximum steam pressure while safety water overfill control103 de-energizes the heater if the water level in the boiler exceededthe safe level.

What is claimed is:

l. A garment finishing combination, comprising a garment finisher and asteam generating boiler disposed in adjacent side by side closelycoupled relationship; said finisher having means to support a garment,means to blow air over the garment, means including a heat exchanger toheat the air for drying the garment, means including an air vent fromnear the condensate discharge end of the heat exchanger and includingmeans for closing the vent when steam is at said vent; the steamgenerating boiler having a chamber and having means for maintaining agenerally constant water level and steam pressure therein; and linemeans between the boiler and the finisher, and said boiler being locatedadjacent the finisher and relative to the finisher so that thecondensate discharge end of the heat exchanger is at a minimum head ofapproximately 4 inches above the boiler water level to allow condensatereturn along the line means by gravity to the boiler.

2. A garment finishing combination according to claim 1, furtherincluding a steam discharge nozzle operable to condition the garments,and means connecting the boiler to the steam discharge nozzle andincluding a control valve for controlling steam discharge.

3. A garment finishing combination according to claim 2,.furtherincluding a fixed size flow control restriction in the means connectingthe boiler and steam discharge nozzle.

4. A garment finishing combination according to claim 1, wherein saidline means includes a condensate return line, and wherein check means insaid condensate return line permits condensate flow in the directiononly from the finisher to the boiler.

5. A garment finishing combination according to claim 1, furtherincluding means on the boiler to limit the generation of pressuretherein to psig.

6. A garment finishing combination according to claim 1, furtherincluding means on the boiler to limit the generation of pressuretherein, wherein the steam boiler pressure is at least approximately 10psig less than the water pressure of the available fresh water supplyline, and wherein a water makeup line is from the water supply line tothe boiler.

7. A garment finishing combination according to claim 6, furtherincluding means in the finisher including a nozzle to discharge steam tocondition the garments, means connecting the boiler to the nozzle, andmeans along the connecting means including a flow control restrictionand a control valve for controlling steam discharge.

8. A garment finishing combination according to claim 6, wherein thegarment finisher and steam generating boiler are horizontally separatedby at most 8 ft.

9. A garment finishing combination, comprising a garment finisher and asteam generating boiler disposed in adjacent side by side closelycoupled relationship; said finisher having means to support a garment,means including a nozzle to discharge steam to condition the garment,means to blow air over the garment, means including a heat exchanger toheat the air for drying the garment, a steam inlet connection to and acondensate return connection from the finisher, conduit means in thefinisher between the steam inlet and condensate return connections andincluding said heat exchanger and a takeoff to the nozzle, the takeofffrom the conduit means being located generally between the inletconnection and the heat exchanger and including a flow controlrestriction and a control valve, means including an air vent from theconduit means generally between the heat exchanger and the outletconnection, said vent means including means for closing the vent whensteam is at said vent; the steam generating boiler having a chamber andhaving means for maintaining a generally constant water level thereinand having means for adding heat for generating steam up to a setpressure, and a steam outlet from and condensate return to the boilerchamber; steam line means between the boiler steam outlet and thefinisher inlet connection and condensate return line means between thefinisher outlet connection and the boiler condensate return and saidfinisher condensate connection being at a minimum head of approximately4 inches above the boiler water level to allow condensate return bygravity to the boiler.

10. A garment finishing combination according to claim 9, furtherincluding means on the boiler to limit the generation of pressuretherein, wherein the steam boiler pressure is at least approximately 10psig less than the water pressure of the available fresh water supplyline, and wherein a water makeup line is from the water supply to theboiler.

1. A garment finishing combination, comprising a garment finisher and asteam generating boiler disposed in adjacent side by side closelycoupled relationship; said finisher having means to support a garment,means to blow air over the garment, means including a heat exchanger toheat the air for drying the garment, means including an air vent fromnear the condensate discharge end of the heat exchanger and includingmeans for closing the vent when steam is at said vent; the steamgenerating boiler having a chamber and having means for maintaining agenerally constant water level and steam pressure therein; and linemeans between the boiler and the finisher, and said boiler being locatedadjacent the finisher and relative to the finisher so that thecondensate discharge end of the heat exchanger is at a minimum head ofapproximately 4 inches above the boiler water level to allow condensatereturn along the line means by gravity to the boiler.
 2. A garmentfinishing combination according to claim 1, further including a steamdischarge nozzle operable to condition the garments, and meansconnecting the boiler to the steam discharge nozzle and incLuding acontrol valve for controlling steam discharge.
 3. A garment finishingcombination according to claim 2, further including a fixed size flowcontrol restriction in the means connecting the boiler and steamdischarge nozzle.
 4. A garment finishing combination according to claim1, wherein said line means includes a condensate return line, andwherein check means in said condensate return line permits condensateflow in the direction only from the finisher to the boiler.
 5. A garmentfinishing combination according to claim 1, further including means onthe boiler to limit the generation of pressure therein to 15 psig.
 6. Agarment finishing combination according to claim 1, further includingmeans on the boiler to limit the generation of pressure therein, whereinthe steam boiler pressure is at least approximately 10 psig less thanthe water pressure of the available fresh water supply line, and whereina water makeup line is from the water supply line to the boiler.
 7. Agarment finishing combination according to claim 6, further includingmeans in the finisher including a nozzle to discharge steam to conditionthe garments, means connecting the boiler to the nozzle, and means alongthe connecting means including a flow control restriction and a controlvalve for controlling steam discharge.
 8. A garment finishingcombination according to claim 6, wherein the garment finisher and steamgenerating boiler are horizontally separated by at most 8 ft.
 9. Agarment finishing combination, comprising a garment finisher and a steamgenerating boiler disposed in adjacent side by side closely coupledrelationship; said finisher having means to support a garment, meansincluding a nozzle to discharge steam to condition the garment, means toblow air over the garment, means including a heat exchanger to heat theair for drying the garment, a steam inlet connection to and a condensatereturn connection from the finisher, conduit means in the finisherbetween the steam inlet and condensate return connections and includingsaid heat exchanger and a takeoff to the nozzle, the takeoff from theconduit means being located generally between the inlet connection andthe heat exchanger and including a flow control restriction and acontrol valve, means including an air vent from the conduit meansgenerally between the heat exchanger and the outlet connection, saidvent means including means for closing the vent when steam is at saidvent; the steam generating boiler having a chamber and having means formaintaining a generally constant water level therein and having meansfor adding heat for generating steam up to a set pressure, and a steamoutlet from and condensate return to the boiler chamber; steam linemeans between the boiler steam outlet and the finisher inlet connectionand condensate return line means between the finisher outlet connectionand the boiler condensate return and said finisher condensate connectionbeing at a minimum head of approximately 4 inches above the boiler waterlevel to allow condensate return by gravity to the boiler.
 10. A garmentfinishing combination according to claim 9, further including means onthe boiler to limit the generation of pressure therein, wherein thesteam boiler pressure is at least approximately 10 psig less than thewater pressure of the available fresh water supply line, and wherein awater makeup line is from the water supply to the boiler.